School children to get free milk

JAKARTA (JP): The non-profit Bina Putra Sejahtera Foundation launched on Wednesday a program with the aim of providing free milk to 500,000 elementary school children in Java starting in June.

The US$6.5 million program, assisted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, was launched in a modest ceremony at the Tugu Utara elementary school in North Jakarta.

Roosminnie Emil Salim, chairwoman of the foundation, said that under the program, powdered milk, flown directly from the U.S., would be processed and packaged by dairy firm PT Ultra Jaya and distributed by her foundation.

"The main objective of the program is to improve the nutritional condition of the children, especially those from poor families," she said.

The milk will be distributed three times a week with each child receiving a 200-milliliter carton of milk, she said.

Of the 500,000 children to receive the milk donation, 70,000 will be in Jakarta, 125,000 in West Java, 120,000 in Central Java, 60,000 in Yogyakarta and 125,000 in East Java. (ylt)